We have all heard and seen commercials on products that promise to keep us looking younger, even the possibility of reversing the aging process. These commercialized products come in a variety, from powder, cream, facial solution, and even pills. One promising agent, gaining recent attention, is human growth hormone (HGH, aka: somatotropin), which is a natural hormone that the body makes, but is now widely synthesized for many uses. One of its controversial uses is in the claim that it can work as an anti-aging agent. Let’s look at what growth hormone is and how it affects the body.

What Is Growth Hormone?

Growth hormone is produce naturally in the anterior pituitary gland, which is a pea-size gland located in the brain. The gland makes, stores, and releases the hormone to the rest of the body when needed. The hormone is extremely essential for the normal physical growth in children and adolescents. Its levels rise during childhood and peak during the time of puberty when there is a rapid acceleration in growth. Growth hormone works by regulating body composition, increasing body fluids, building muscle and stimulating bone growth. It also increases the breakdown of fats. All of these activities contribute to physical growth. As the body reaches a full physical and reproductive maturation, the production of growth hormone starts to decline.

Losing weight can be a daunting task, and often times we just need something that will make it a bit easier. For many, weight loss drugs seem to be the ray of hope to overcome their challenge in losing weight. Phentermine, a prescription medication, is one such drug that may help some lose weight. However, it is important to be aware that phentermine is not the magic weight loss drug for everyone.

Phentermine works by decreasing the feeling of hunger and makes the individual feel fuller. Ideal, right? However, phentermine is not for those who want to shed a few pounds, it is actually for those who are facing dramatic health consequences due to being significantly overweight. Phentermine is also not recommended for those who have heart disease, hypertension, overactive thyroid, glaucoma, history of drug use, are pregnant or could be pregnant.

If you do qualify for phentermine there are many salient points to know to optimize weight loss while on phentermine. Phentermine will help you lose weight but it is contingent on the diet and exercise pattern that is set during the phentermine course. Regular exercise with strict diet can provide a larger percent of weight loss then infrequent exercise and no portion control. Another key point that many do not realize about phentermine is that it is supposed to be a short therapy of 12 weeks. It is not recommended to go beyond this period because the body may develop resistance to phentermine and the weight loss aspect of the drug may dissipate while the side effects will remain. Due to the short therapy it is vital for the patient to develop a diet and exercise plan during the phentermine course and continue it when the phentermine is tapered off and eventually discontinued. If the diet and exercise program is not continued after phentermine is stopped then it is likely that a person will see an increase in weight.

Pharmacy is one of the most transparent professions. You can walk up to any pharmacy and literally watch what a pharmacist does. You can talk directly to a pharmacist almost immediately and ask for advice. Even with this easy access and availability, many people are not aware of how valuable a pharmacist can be in their health care.

Prior to the 1950s all pharmacies compounded medications; however, by the end of that decade, almost all medications were mass produced by pharmaceutical companies. Since then, pharmacists have changed into drug dispensers. Amazingly, compounding pharmacies have survived and are now starting to become more and more popular. Compounding pharmacists work with other health care providers to find the appropriate medication, strength and dosage form for each patient. This investment into each patient opens up communication between all parties and ultimately results in improved patient care.

While commercial medications may be sufficient to treat some people, others may benefit greatly by using compounded medications. By compounding medications, the ability to individualize medication is almost limitless. Compounded medications can be made from commercial products or from raw ingredients. In the event of a drug shortage, this means that the compounding pharmacy may be able to obtain the raw ingredient and make that medication just for you. Dosage strength and how the medication is applied can also be customized.